A Super 2 eligible player on Cincinnati Reds could make a perfect Angels trade target

During the offseason, it is important to note which franchises are potentially looking to cut payroll heading into the new season. For the Los Angeles Angels, they should look at the Cincinnati Reds as a potential candidate to sell off a position of strength to bolster a weakness.

The Reds are already rumored to trading one of their marquee starting pitchers, which does seem unlikely given that Hunter Greene, Andrew Abbott, Nick Lodolo, Brady Singer, Chase Burns are the life-blood of their playoff team. Even with Nick Martinez and Zack Littell hitting free agency and maybe trading Singer (for Taylor Ward perhaps?) this offseason, they can supplement their rotation with players like Rhett Lowder and Chase Petty.

On the position player side, they have one disappointing former top prospect who is in-line for a pay raise via Super 2 eligibility who they could trade in exchange for some help elsewhere.

A Super 2 eligible player on Cincinnati Reds could make a perfect Angels trade target

Matt McLain is a 26-year-old second baseman who still has immense potential, despite a season in which he posted a ghastly .220/.300/.343/.643 slashline. McLain is in-line for about a $2 million boost in salary, even with that largely underwhelming 2025 season and lost 2024 season due to injury.

McLain is a right-handed hitter who strikes out a lot, which the Angels have a lot of in-house already, but he could be their starting second baseman for the foreseeable future. Plus, trading for McLain would allow Christian Moore to marinate more in the minors (and perhaps transition to left field, which has long been rumored). Buying the dip on a soon-to-be more expensive player on a cheap organization like McLain on the Reds is the kind of move the Angels need to make.

In the infield, the Reds have Elly De La Cruz, Ke'Bryan Hayes, Gavin Lux, Spencer Steer, Noelvi Marte, Sal Stewart, Christian Encarnacion-Strand and maybe Edwin Arroyo already. Their outfield, however, leaves less to be desired in the form of just TJ Friedl, Will Benson with Austin Hays, Jake Fraley and Connor Joe hitting free agency. The Angels could potentially float a Taylor Ward for Matt McLain framework for a trade, or (if the Reds do not want to assume Ward's salary) go to the minor league outfielder side and put Nelson Rada on the table.

If the Reds cannot get enough pitching, perhaps the Angels float somebody from their core or pitching prospects? Trading a Caden Dana, Ryan Johnson or George Klassen would hurt, and maybe the Angels could acquire McLain without dealing one of those crowned jewels. Perhaps some package built around a quantity of pitchers including Sam Aldegheri, Víctor Mederos, Sam Bachman, Chase Silseth or Mitch Farris would entice Cincinnati?